


Of Gentle Hands and Onigiri

by lonelycrescent



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, M/M, Pro Volleyball Player Ushijima Wakatoshi, Reader-Insert, Wakatoshi likes to tease, Wakatoshi tries his hand at onigiris, he's the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28720413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelycrescent/pseuds/lonelycrescent
Summary: Because, despite what people say, loving Ushijima Wakatoshi— and being loved by him— isn’t as hard as they make it out to be.--(aka, Wakatoshi tries to be domestic, and it's the most endearing thing you've ever seen.)
Relationships: Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 109





	Of Gentle Hands and Onigiri

The first time the world knew of pro-volleyball player Ushijima Wakatoshi’s relationship with you, everyone reeled with excitement. After all, who wouldn’t be shocked that someone as dedicated to volleyball as him was capable of loving anything or anyone aside from his beloved sport?

Your phone rang like there’s no tomorrow, your friends demanding to  _ know all the details, NOW,  _ and your socials exploded with hundreds, if not thousands of notifications. But despite all the excited screams and congratulations, you can’t help but notice the increasing number of people who were starting to get worried in your stead, fearing that you might be having a hard time keeping up with someone whose life revolves around his passion, perhaps a little bit too much.

_ But Ushijima’s a busy man,  _ they said,  _ Won’t his lover get too neglected? _

_ If it were me, I wouldn’t date a person who barely has time to rest in between his job, because if he couldn’t do that, then he surely wouldn’t have the time for me. _

_ What on earth was his partner thinking, trying to keep up with his passion? We all know he’s the type to choose volleyball over his relationships in a heartbeat. _

Soon, it’s not only the strangers on the internet talking about how you must be feeling lonely, being in a relationship with such a person. Your friends started checking up on you too, asking if you’re okay, if you’re being taken care of, or if you’re being given what you need.

At first you were touched by their concern, assuring them that you’re okay, because, really,  _ you are,  _ but as time passed you started getting annoyed at all these assumptions about not only you, but Ushijima Wakatoshi as a person.

Because none of them were true. Because, despite what people say, loving Ushijima Wakatoshi— and being loved by him— isn’t as hard as they make it out to be.

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted by none other than your boyfriend, who gently placed his hand on top of yours in confusion. You were in the middle of making onigiris with him, your salted hands pressed and unmoving over the rice beneath your fingers for far too long.

”Is there anything bothering you today, love?” Wakatoshi asked, gentle eyes curious of what might possibly be on your mind, but respectful of your boundaries at the same time.

“Nothing’s the matter, Wakatoshi-kun.” you replied as your hands started working again. “I was just distracted by something at work. You were saying something about onigiris?”

“Yes. I can’t seem to get molding it right. You make them really well.”

“Oh. Let me see?”

Wakatoshi showed you his handiwork, and you prodded it with your fingers. The shape and size was just about right, but it was too compact. Still, you smiled at Wakatoshi’s efforts at making them. “This isn’t that bad. It’s only your second time making this, right? I, on the other hand, have been doing this since I was 15.”

Instead of getting reassured though, Wakatoshi, the ever perfectionist and competitive at his very core, just asked you, “What is there to improve, then?”

At this, you just laughed, endeared at how his passion for volleyball bleeds into his everyday life. It’s easily the cutest thing you’ve seen today.

“It’s too compact,” you told him gently, “onigiris should be… fluffy when you take a bite at them. Just don’t squeeze it too hard with your palms and you’re good to go.”

“Fluffy,” he repeated.

“Yes. like clouds. But not really! A little firmer than that, but, yeah, you get me.”

“...I see. But I doubt my hands could go any gentler than this.”

Of course he would think that way. Anyone whose work involved spiking balls as hard as they possibly can would do so. But while it’s true that Wakatoshi’s strength relied on brute force, you of all people knew that his hands were more capable of gentleness than any other person you’ve ever met.

You knew this because up until now you still remembered how his hands found yours in the dark during last year’s spring in the streets of Tokyo, bringing your palm to touch his cheek and letting it linger there. Looked at you straight in the eyes and asked you to never leave his side in an almost silent plea. Confessed that despite trying to hold back for your sake, he found himself falling for you. Still, despite his desperation— his pleas to stop you from leaving and his promises to do better— the hands that were holding yours remained loose with their grip, as if giving you a choice, as if letting you have the last word.

On that night, you found yourself choosing to stay. And it was, undoubtedly, the choice you believe you will make over and over and over again.

Setting down the half-finished onigiri that you’ve been working on, you cleaned your hands and held them out to Wakatoshi. “Hold my hand.”

“What for?”

“Do I need a reason to want to hold hands with you?”

“No. But you usually do not ask me questions like this either. You will just take my hands and put them where you want to be touched. Like earlier, in the car—”

You did  _ not  _ want to be reminded of what the two of you did in the car earlier. You rolled your eyes, annoyed and embarrassed at your boyfriend’s teasing. And he does it with a straight face too! The jerk. “WAKATOSHI. Just. hold my damn hand, will you?”

Wakatoshi’s eyes crinkled in amusement, and he yielded. “I was just teasing, love.”

He held out his hand to grasp yours in a gentle manner, and you can’t help but wonder at how small yours were compared to his. Even while barely touching him like this, you already felt like you’re in the safest place to be in, with him.

You looked at your joined hands and smiled, only one thought in your mind.  _ Love. _

“Look at this,” you held one of his hands to your face, letting it cup your cheeks; your thumbs drawing circles over his knuckle in an almost-subconscious manner, “I don’t know how I would explain it to you but, just handle the onigiri like how you handle me. You wouldn’t wanna crush this pretty face, would you?” 

Wakatoshi just laughed— a loud and real one, and it reverberates through the hallways of his apartment and into your heart. He barely does, so you stored this memory into your mind, hoping to remember it for a long time.

Brushing his thumb softly over your cheek, he asked you, “Do I handle you well?”

You leaned further into his touch.

“Of course you do. You’re the best of the best, Wakatoshi-kun,” you told him with a big grin.

“...Am I?”

“Yes. No one can compare to you.”

“And no one can compare to you as well.” Wakatoshi stepped forward, bringing your bodies closer together. Hands on your waist, he pulled you in, shocking you a little at the sudden gesture.

“Because you,” his gaze softened, and you felt his lips touch your forehead, soft and featherlight, “are one, peculiar human being.”

He fully enclosed you in his arms, and you melted into the hard lines of his body. Despite being all work and muscle, Wakatoshi’s hugs are surprisingly comforting and soft, and unlike in the court where he  _ dominates,  _ with you, he  _ protects. _

_ This  _ is what the world didn’t know of Ushijima Wakatoshi.  _ This  _ is the man whom only you had the privilege of knowing.

You felt dizzy from all the affections, but you still managed to crack a joke into his apron-clad chest. “I know. Who the hell compares onigiris to faces, anyway?”

“Only you,” he said, and you felt him smile, “Only you.”

Loving— and being loved— by Ushijima Wakatoshi isn’t easy, but it’s far, far easier than what others say. Many days it’s effort and work, but on days like this?

You didn’t even have to try.

For a long while, the two of you stayed in the comfort of your embrace, all the half-made onigiris forgotten.

.  
  
.

.

.

.

.

.

“May I ask for a kiss, Waka-kun?”

“You suddenly being into consent is new to me. If you want it, just get it like you always do.”

“But you won’t be able to handle it if I do.”

“Try me.”

“Oh,  _ I will.” _

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing to say. I just love him. Haha.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Your comments would reaaaally make me happy <3
> 
> Ps. For filo readers out there! I have an ongoing kurotsuki AU on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/atsumulangit_/status/1348596464902041605?s=20)! Please do check it out if you're into socmed AU's <3


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